Accused credit card scammers arrested as part of East Coast crime ring

Tuesday

Apr 29, 2008 at 12:01 AMApr 29, 2008 at 6:46 PM

A suspicious credit transaction recently at Wal-Mart in Herkimer tipped off store associates and the Herkimer Police Department, leading to the arrest of two men said to be two small components in what could be a major scam of stolen credit information.

Dana C. Silano

A suspicious credit transaction recently at Wal-Mart in Herkimer tipped off store associates and the Herkimer Police Department, leading to the arrest of two men said to be two small components in what could be a major scam of stolen credit information.

During a press conference Monday morning, Investigator Rob Risi of the Herkimer police said that Jerry Prime and Quincy Thompson, of Brooklyn, were arrested after being stopped by Herkimer police west on State Route 5 when the two men left the store.

By his side at Herkimer Village Court with additional information were Herkimer Police Chief Joe Malone and Captain Scott Scherer.

“On April 8 at 4:45 p.m., we received a phone call from Wal-Mart security that a male was attempting to purchase an $800 gift card with multiple credit cards that were being denied,” Risi said. “As police approached Wal-Mart, they observed their vehicle leaving and stopped them.”

The 2008 Ford extended van was seized that evening after Herkimer police initially investigated and found several debit cards amongst other suspicious items in the vehicle. The investigation uncovered a total of 42 debit cards, 15 Wal-Mart gift cards and seven American Express gift cards. Risi said neither Prime nor Thompson were honest about their identities during the arrest. That evening, they were charged.

Prime, 30, was arrested on 97 counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument after additional fraudulent debit and gift cards were recovered from his vehicle, Risi said. He was additionally charged with fifth-degree conspiracy. He is currently being held in the Herkimer County Correctional Facility.

Thompson is wanted on an arrest warrant for 92 counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and fifth-degree conspiracy after he was released on $2,500 bail from the Herkimer County jail before police realized the extent of the scam, Risi said.

Although officers could not say if the men have a criminal past, Risi did say that it appears that Prime has been the main suspect in several larcenies in Wal-Mart and in other police photos.

“We sent out a general file and confirmed several hits on Prime,” Risi said, “in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Ohio and Pennsylvania. We believe that this has been going on for at least nine months, with over $2 million stolen. We have already confirmed $900,000 so far.”

Wal-Mart has been investigating the activity since September 2007. After officials in the company out of Albany explained to police the operation, police contacted the United States Secret Service and the U.S. Postal Service. The FBI is also involved in the investigation.

Risi said it appeared to police departments along the East Coast that electronic equipment from Wal-Mart stores was the focus of interest for these particular suspects. The men bought over $39,000 worth of gift cards and electronic merchandise between the Herkimer and Rome stores.

“The men were averaging about $30,000 to $40,000 each weekend here in upstate New York,” Risi said.

In the van alone, police seized four Nintendo Wiis, a Playstation 3, a PSP, several video games, a GPS navigation system, five cell phones and hundreds of debit, credit and Wal-Mart gift cards with stolen information on them. Of the cell phones, two belonged to the suspects. Officers are unsure who the others’ belong to, but speculate they could be those of other people involved in the scam. Each of the debit cards had the information of an unsuspecting victim on it. A large bundle of the cards were found beneath the seat covers during the investigation of the van.

Police suspect that those involved would be sent to retrieve the items using the stolen credit information, and that they items would be sold online, for a discounted price with 100 percent profit.

The information obtained during a scam like this is done so through the source of a skimmer, Risi said.

Scherer said that Herkimer police were not very familiar with the small mechanism, and they Googled the item for additional information.

“Basically,” he said, “a suspect would give a waiter or waitress $10,000 to place a skimmer in their apron during the course of a transaction.”

The individual would be asked to scan every credit card received through the skimmer, which records all of the information on the card.

Also, Scherer added, “At a gas station or a store like Wal-Mart, someone might use a skimmer with a wireless chip placed inside the card scanner, and be nearby to download the information whenever someone purchased gas or other items. In that same token, a scanner might be placed above or below the normal credit card scanner, so the customer unknowingly will scan their card through both.”

Like a criminal assembly line, after the information is obtained, it goes to another who transfers that data to the magnetic strips on the back of debit and gift cards, which are then taken by someone else to Wal-Mart or other stores and the victim’s account is withdrawn from at the suspect’s ease. Anyone can get a skimmer legally online, because they are used as a regular credit card scanner for businesses, said Malone.
“It’s the use of it afterward, in something like this, that’s a criminal act,” he said.

Wal-Mart officials assisted using their computer equipment regarding the debit cards that police had in their custody, scanning them to match some information to each of the cards.

“Wal-Mart officials have been very helpful in this investigation,” Risi said.

Police have also received similar reports involving Prime and/or Thompson out of Virginia, New Jersey, Ohio and several New York police agencies. A female victim in Louisiana has come forth so far in the local aspect of this investigation, Risi said.

“We expect to see many more people begin to come forward as they receive their bank account statements at the end of the month,” he said. “It can take up to a month for people to realize what’s happened to them, when they see their regular statement. When other victims come forward, we will match their information to the debit cards.”

Although it is hard to prevent situations this extreme, Risi warned customers in general to be weary of their credit information, especially with the use of credit and debit cards, and to be aware of activity in their account periodically.

Currently, a male and a female in Ohio are in custody in relation to the investigation, and there is a warrant out of Ulster County for another suspect.